Tag Archive for Religious Programs

If you are signed up for Wood Badge, you probably have heard of the ticket: Five tasks/projects/things that you will do that will benefit Scouting and enable you to grow your impact on the boys, while leveraging your new found leadership skills.

WB Ticket items are very personal and will vary greatly between a second-year Cub parent and a ten-year Asst. Scoutmaster. If you are from the Five Trails District, here are are few ideas of ticket items that the district could really use help with:

1) COMMISSIONER SERVICE — We are in the process of rebuilding the Commissioner Service in Five Trails. Unit Commissioners are the mentors/friends of the Pack/Troop unit leaders, and also serve as the bridge between our District resources and the units. Consider becoming a UC for even one unit (perhaps the unit that your son is currently in). UC’s can be co-registered as Den Leaders, Committee Members, or ASMs (or just be other parents). If you have a passion for “helping” but haven’t found that “next step” role yet, consider being the Commissioner for your unit or a nearby Pack.

2) DEN CHIEFS – Den Chiefs are Boy Scouts who are learning leadership by serving within Cub Packs. We have lots of Boy Scouts who are looking for that opportunity – and Packs, whose Dens would benefit from an extra set of experienced hands. Five Trails District is looking for one or more folks who could take the Den Chief programs that some of our Troops already offer and consolidate it, so that we manage the placement of Boy Scouts within Packs at a district or city (Coppell, N.Irving and S.Irving) level. This would be a huge enabler for our Scouts and a way to bring your organizational and team coordinating WB skills together in an impactful way.

3) RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS COORDINATOR – Many Scouts miss the opportunity to pursue their Youth Religious Awards (purple knots), especially as they grow through Scouting – only because they are unaware of when the programs are being offered. Our district could use one or two folks whose only job would be to periodically solicit the other Pack/Troop-minded religious coordinators – and then communicate when new classes are being offered. Imagine if a boy wanted to earn his “God & Family” knot as a Webelos, and could just go to the district’s website to find out when and where the next classes are being held. Consider being that coordinator for at least a year and help us launch the webpages and communication streams between the various adult coordinators.

4) RELIGIOUS COURSE EVENT-LEADER – Five Trails recently ran “God & Family” (4th and 5th grade) as an overnight lock-in, instead of a typical eight-week meeting schedule. It was a WB ticket item, including leading the weekend (including recruiting the other leaders and then managing the on-site experience) and then developing a guide for other districts to use for similar lock-ins. The district would like to do the same offering for “God & Church” (6th thru 8th grades), including coordinating the leaders, the on-site experiences, and helping develop a guide for others to use in the future. If you are good at leading short-term teams for a big-impact goal or event, this may be a great ticket item for you. Or if you enjoy developing guides to enable others and can imagine yourself dissecting the curriculum to lay out the agenda – and then building it back up for others to use, you could have a big impact on the boys’ and future participants; consider co-leading with another WB participant. Alternatively, consider using the God & Family guide and delivering your own weekend for Webelos.

If any of these align with your passions, please email me for ideas on how you can have an impact on our Scouts through these roles.

Thanks for all you do (and will do) for our Scouts. Best wishes to you as you enjoy Wood Badge.